Ethereal Art with Canadian Painter Brooke Cormier of @bcormier_art

I think the essence of nature can be expressed through art by the way it is captured in the artist’s chosen medium… Nature has so many unique ways of being represented based on how the artist reproduces their experience of it.

It is no easy task to turn everyday scenic views into beautifully detailed works of art. The Canadian artist, Brooke Cormier, captures natural settings through her collection of oil paintings that she documents on her Instagram page. Whether it be depictions of her various travels or reflections of her own country, she effortlessly provides a colorful vivacity and exquisite attention to detail. With over 121,000 followers and growing, learn why this Canadian artist is gathering attention through an exclusive interview with The 7th Magazine Blog –

What inspired you to begin painting and drawing?

I’ve always been a creative person. I started drawing when I was a young girl but had no formal training (if you don’t count the weekend workshop my sister and I did at our local recreation centre when I was 6). The painting part didn’t start until I enrolled in my 10th grade art class, and it wasn’t until my final year in high school taking fine arts that I realized my potential.

How can the essence of nature be expressed through art?

I think the essence of nature can be expressed through art by the way it is captured in the artist’s chosen medium. I am a painter and although up until now I’ve worked mostly in realism, honoring nature the way I see it, I’ve begun to experiment a bit in impressionism where there is so much opportunity to express movement through brush strokes, ambiance through colour and drama through value. Nature has so many unique ways of being represented based on how the artist reproduces their experience of it.

Art is often displayed in galleries, what is it like to display your artwork through a digital platform?

Displaying art through a digital platform puts more control in the hands of the artist. Before the days of social media, artists had to rely on galleries to get their work in front of the eyes of an audience, while a commission of up to 50% (sometimes even more) was taken off of each sale. Now, artists have the opportunity to advertise and market their work for free online while keeping 100% of the profit for their work. This has enabled me to expand my career as a painter more than I could have ever imagined in my first year and a half of working full time.

This is not to say that galleries are irrelevant now, they definitely have their merits such as giving the artist a reputable CV, allowing people to see the work in person rather than through a computer screen, and taking care of sales, marketing and advertising while the artist is free to create more work. That being said, digital platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn make it possible for any aspiring artist to expand their craft, without gallery owners being the “gate keepers” of the art world.

Which piece are you most proud of? Why?

The piece of work I take the most pride in would probably be my 16” by 20” acrylic painting entitled The Rapids – Minden, ON. To me, this piece was a turning point in my art career. It was a commission that I painted in my third year of university for my grandfather from a scene at my cottage, where I spent every summer growing up. This was the first piece that I ever made prints of and it was through these prints that I met my mentor, Tim Packer, who would later encourage me to pursue my art career professionally and mentor me through the process. I ended up selling out of all 25 prints in the limited edition over a two-month period, which reinforced the idea that painting could be a feasible career option for me. Additionally, since the time that this piece was painted, the dam at the rapids has been drastically reconstructed; so the painting and its prints serve as a relic illustrating this special place exactly how it is remembered.

You seem to be inspired by the places you travel, where would you like to travel to next for your future paintings?

I definitely love traveling, taking inspiration from the places I visit and putting it down on canvas! Before I plan where I want to go next, I’d like to narrow down on a painting style that is uniquely mine. Once I have succeeded in doing this, I would love to travel the world and use this style to express all the different scenes and subjects I come across. But my first destination would be my own country; Canada has many amazing destinations to offer and I would love to explore them before heading out to the rest of the world.

What is the process you undergo in preparation for your paintings/drawings?

The process of creating a piece sometimes varies, but usually it starts with a photo. Photography is one of my favourite hobbies and it compliments my painting career extremely well. I can usually tell right after taking a photo whether it will become my next painting. There’s a little inspiration bug that bites me and I can’t wait to get back to the studio to begin; but before I start I have to decide whether I will be working in process mode or product mode. This is a concept that my mentor taught me. Process mode is when you are painting within an experimental head space where the final product is not as important as the process of creating it. Alternatively, product mode is when you are painting with a final product in mind while reaching self-distinguished standards and expectations. Usually product mode will be used when creating a commissioned piece where the client is expecting a painting of a certain quality and process mode is used when working towards making new discoveries within your work.

What would you like to have accomplished through your art, 5 years from now?

It’s hard to say exactly where I would like to be 5 years from now in my art career. I feel as though I’ve hit a lot of milestones already within my first year and a half and I am so excited to see what the future holds. I know that my ultimate goal at the moment is to develop my own unique voice in the art world. By this I mean to find a style in my paintings that is uniquely recognized as a Brooke Cormier, where I love not only the “product” but also the “process”. After I reach this goal, I believe the world will be my oyster! I hope to travel with my art, putting its beauty on canvas and continuing to inspire young artists to pursue their passions while invalidating the “starving artist” stereotype.

Hezra Martinez

Born from Mexican parents, I feel a sense of obligation to focus on the beauty of La Raza. I hope to do more for my community and along the way expose the hidden gems within the city that never sleeps. Now let’s put pen to paper, or rather, finger to keyboard.

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